Sir Alex Ferguson's private meeting with Pep Guardiola and his thoughts on Ruben Amorim

Sir Alex Ferguson is no stranger to holding private talks with either Pep Guardiola or Ruben Amorim. Guardiola's Manchester City host rivals Manchester United, managed by Amorim, in the Manchester derby on Sunday afternoon.

Despite both clubs enjoying vast Premier League success in the past, neither side has started the season well. City, despite their hopes that last term was merely a blip, are down in 16th, having won one and lost two games so far.

Less surprisingly, given United's decline since Ferguson's departure in 2013 and a woeful 15th-place finish last season, Amorim's Red Devils are in 11th place. And it is entirely possible that the Portuguese head coach may have leaned on Sir Alex for some advice ahead of the short trip to the Etihad Stadium.

That's because Amorim revealed last season in January, midway through United's turbulent campaign, that he was in regular contact with the 83-year-old. Allowing Amorim to tap into his vast knowledge suggests that Ferguson has a reasonably close relationship with Amorim and wants to help the young head coach.

"I speak with Sir Alex several times. I try to call him to keep being positive," Amorim told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's really good because I feel the history of the club but it's really hard, as they did such a good job, to be the guy leading the team at this moment. It's really hard but we have to believe."

In the opposition dugout on Sunday will be a man whom Ferguson will also know well. The Scot had formerly handpicked David Moyes as his successor, only for his compatriot to be sacked less than a year into the United job in 2014.

Ryan Giggs took charge on an interim basis before Louis van Gaal was eventually appointed. But before the Dutchman's arrival, Ferguson had sought to make amends by apparently trying to snap up Guardiola - then at Bayern Munich, and regarded as the best manager in the world.

Guardiola, who ironically joined City in 2016 and has won six Premier League titles since, recalled once being invited to a private meeting by Ferguson, where he was left unsure of whether the Scotsman was offering him the United job or not.

"He invited me to [a] super restaurant and we had a very, very good time. My English [was] not so good when Sir Alex [Ferguson] spoke a little bit quickly, I had sometimes had a problem understanding him," explained Guardiola.

"That's why I didn't understand if I received an offer or not. It was a friendly dinner, like always with me when I started as a coach, he was so, so gentle and we spent a very, very good time together."

Ferguson's record in Manchester derbies is 26 wins, 10 draws, and 11 losses. Guardiola, meanwhile, has won eight of his 15 league clashes with the Red Devils but lost both times he faced Amorim last year. One loss came against Amorim's Sporting CP side in the Champions League and then to United in December.

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